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Antibiotic and Non-Antibiotic Determinants of Antimicrobial Resistance: Insights from Water Ecosystems
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This review explains how non-antibiotic pollutants like heavy metals, biocides, and microplastics are contributing to antibiotic resistance in water systems, beyond the well-known problem of antibiotic overuse. Wastewater treatment plants are hotspots where these pollutants interact with bacteria, promoting the spread of resistance genes through mobile genetic elements. The findings are concerning for human health because drug-resistant bacteria from water environments can ultimately reach people through drinking water and food.
Antibiotic resistance is a matter of global concern, casting a shadow over both public well-being and environmental equilibrium. While overuse of antibiotics was initially believed to be the primary driving factor, it is now evident that non-antibiotic agents such as heavy metals, biocides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and microplastics, often overlooked, could also be contributing to this central problem. Within water systems, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are recognized for harboring antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and greatly impacted with anthropogenic pollutants, making them hotspots for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This review explains the AMR resistome and how it spreads with mobile genetic elements (MGEs), highlighting the impact of antibiotics and non-antibiotic agents on AMR emergence, covering the presence of ARGs and MGEs in water systems, and exploring advanced technologies for WWTPs to mitigate the issue, emphasizing water environments’ critical role in the One Health framework.
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This review examines the drivers of antibiotic resistance in urban wastewater treatment plants, including antibiotics, heavy metals, disinfectants, personal care products, and microplastics. Researchers summarized the concentration levels and mechanisms by which these chemical pollutants promote the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes. The study emphasizes the importance of studying these interactions under realistic conditions to better understand and mitigate antibiotic resistance in wastewater systems.
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This review pulls together existing research showing that rivers, lakes, and wastewater aren't just passive dumping grounds for antibiotics and drug-resistant bacteria—they're actually breeding grounds where these germs mix, swap resistance traits, and become even harder to treat, especially when microplastics and other pollutants are present alongside antibiotics. This matters because these "supercharged" resistant bacteria can reach you through drinking water, seafood, or swimming, making common infections harder to cure with standard antibiotics. The authors argue that better wastewater treatment and pollution control are key to slowing this spread before it further thre
The interplay between antimicrobial resistance genes and emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment plants: Key players in One Health
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Researchers reviewed how wastewater treatment plants interact with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and emerging contaminants including microplastics, finding that microplastics and heavy metals help antibiotic resistance genes spread through microbial communities. This makes treatment plants hotspots for creating harder-to-treat bacterial strains, posing a broad public health risk that connects environmental pollution to human medicine.
Unveiling the Interactions Between the Antibiotic Resistome and Microplastics Influenced by Trace Elements and PPCPs in Wastewater Treatment Plants
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Researchers monitored wastewater treatment plants containing microplastics, trace elements, and pharmaceutical/personal care products, finding that these co-occurring pollutants interact to influence the survival and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes through the treatment process.
The interplay between antimicrobial resistance, heavy metal pollution, and the role of microplastics
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This review explores the three-way connection between microplastics, heavy metals, and antibiotic resistance in the environment. Microplastics serve as surfaces where bacteria form biofilms and exchange resistance genes, while heavy metals have been driving bacterial resistance for billions of years through similar genetic mechanisms. Together, these pollutants create hotspots where dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria can develop and spread.
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